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Live from San Diego, it’s Saturday night! I’ll be at Petco Park today to see the San Diego Padres host the Philadelphia Phillies. The Friars, battling at the edge of the wild card standings in the National League, are second in attendance in all of Major League Baseball. Only Dodger Stadium has packed more fans into home games than Petco. I’m excited to enjoy a Red Trolley in its natural habitat at the game when the Padres cross the 2,000,000-fan mark for the season.
Don’t forget to watch every game with the Pitcher List community on Playback!
Today’s Headlines
Skubal Loses, Raleigh Sets Record
Tarik Skubal lost for the third time this season, and Cal Raleigh helped the Seattle Mariners turn a close game into a rout with yet another first-half record. Skubal hit a rough patch in the top of the fifth, giving up three two-out runs on a J.P. Crawford single and a two-run homer from Julio Rodriguez to make it 4-1. The Detroit Tigers cut the lead to one in the bottom of the sixth, after Skubal left the game, but Raleigh capped the evening with two homers in the final two innings (Nos. 37 and 38). He launched a solo shot in the eighth and wrapped up the blowout with a grand slam to make it 12-3. The Seattle C/DH has a four-homer lead over his MVP competition in New York. His 38 homers set a new pre-All-Star break AL mark, and he’s one shy of Barry Bonds’s MLB record of 39 in 2001.
Belli for Three (Almost Four)
Cody Bellinger hit three home runs in a game for the first time, and Carlos Rodón reached double-digit wins in an 11-0 defeat of the Chicago Cubs. Bellinger, a Cub for the past two seasons, hit a two-run shot in the third and another in the fifth. Kyle Tucker reached above the right field wall in the seventh and snatched a would-be Belli-bomb from the waiting hands of a Yankee fan. Bellinger’s third two-run homer evaded the leaping Pete Crow-Armstrong. Bellinger smiled while rounding the bases, and the fan who made a clean catch in the first row in right-center celebrated. Rodon gave up four hits and walked one over eight innings, striking out eight. He became the second Yankee pitcher with 10 wins this year.
Four players have 30 or more home runs; only one of them can pull off a trifecta of outfield web gems. Aaron Judge robbed a home run from Pete Crow-Armstrong in the top of the fourth. He charged in to dive and take a hit from Dansby Swanson for the next out. In the eighth, he ranged left and took extra bases from Kyle Tucker with a dive into the dirt near the right field line.
Rafaela Extends Boston Streak
The Boston Red Sox got Alex Bregman back in the two-spot, but their ninth hitter proved the most impactful in Friday night’s 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Ceddanne Rafaela went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, including a walk-off two-run homer. Both Rafaela and the Red Sox are on hot streaks. The centerfielder is hitting .339 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in his past 15 games, and the team has an eight-game winning streak. The victory moves them into third place in the most competitive division race. The top four teams in the AL East are 5.5 games apart. Bregman got a hit in his first game back after a quad injury on May 23, but Boston lost starter Hunter Dobbins to a knee injury in his first start since June 22.
LA Losing Streak Up to 7
Shohei Ohtani’s third-inning homer cleared the right field wall and landed in McCovey Cove for his first contribution to the collectors in kayaks. However, the San Francisco Giants won the game 8-7, so Ohtani’s first splash hit has a bit of a Tungsten Arm O’Doyle hint to it. Willy Adames didn’t touch water, but he did make excellent use of the deep right-center field part of Oracle Park with an opposite-field home run and a two-run triple. Jung Hoo Lee (3-for-4) matched Adames’s three RBIs. The Los Angeles Dodgers still have the top record in the NL, but only by a single win. Their division lead over the second-place Giants is now four games with two more contests between the rivals before the All-Star break.
All-Star Updates
⚾ Matt Olson will replace Ronald Acuña Jr. in the Home Run Derby. Acuña has been playing despite dealing with back tightness, but the Atlanta outfielder will make way for the Atlanta native. This will be Olson’s second derby appearance. He lost to Trey Mancini 24-23 in the 2021 first round.
⚾ Jacob Misiorowski will bring his triple-digit fastball to Atlanta after wowing the league in a short but stellar debut; he’s in for Matthew Boyd. Carlos Rodón will take fellow Yankee Max Fried’s place due to Fried’s scheduled start today, meaning Fried won’t return to the Truist Field mound in front of his Atlanta fans. Adrian Morejon will join the NL bullpen as the third San Diego Padres reliever on the roster. He replaces Philadelphia Phillies starter Zack Wheeler. Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen will make his first All-Star appearance as a replacement for Yusei Kikuchi.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Third Swing
The third annual HBCU Swingman Classic ended in a 7-4 victory for the National squad. The real winner is the continued development of this showcase, headed by Ken Griffey Jr., for collegiate players outside the focus of the national prospect radar.
Crying in Baseball
Misiorowski packs a lot of emotion into his response to being named to the NL All-Star roster. What a whirlwind summer for the fireballing righty.
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Vladdy 1,000, Scherzer 1
The first-place Toronto Blue Jays celebrated two milestones on Friday. One served as a marker along the way for their franchise cornerstone. One is a boost to their momentum from a free agent. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled to right to reach 1,000 hits for his career, and Max Scherzer earned his first win as a Blue Jay in a 7-6 victory over the Athletics.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Austin Riley left Atlanta’s 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals with lower abdominal tightness.
⚾ Kodai Senga returned from the 15-day IL and threw four innings in the New York Mets‘ 8-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. The Mets also placed outfielder Jesse Winker on the 10-day IL with back inflammation.
⚾ The Milwaukee Brewers placed Aaron Ashby on the paternity list and recalled right-hander Tobias Myers from Triple-A.
⚾ The Tampa Bay Rays placed infielder Brandon Lowe on the 10-day IL with oblique tightness and recalled infielder Curtis Mead from Triple-A.
⚾ The Houston Astros placed centerfielder Jake Meyers on the 10-day IL with a right calf strain. They transferred infielder/outfielder Zach Dezenzo to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for top prospect Brice Matthews.
Articles You Should Read
The Big Orange Machine — Michael Baumann, FanGraphs
Inside the glowing legacy of Jim Abbott — Mike Farrell and Jeremy Schaap, FanGraphs
For these HBCU Swingman Classic players, big names inspired, influenced their game — Cayla Sweazie, Andscape
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